Sahar Elhabashi, Vice President and head of Spotify’s podcast division, will be leaving the company at the end of 2024 after a notable six-year tenure. Elhabashi and her supervisor, Alex Norström, co-president and chief business officer, informed Spotify’s podcast team of her departure in memos on Wednesday. Currently, she has no plans to pursue another position, and Spotify is actively searching for her successor.
In the interim, Roman Wasenmüller, who has been instrumental in leading Spotify’s international podcast efforts, will take over the podcast group. Wasenmüller has been significantly involved in the rapid growth of video podcasts. Emma Vaughn, who heads advertising business development and partnerships, will also step into a leadership role overseeing global advertising and content development for podcasts, while Shilpa Rao continues to manage podcast business affairs and contract operations, reporting to Vaughn.
During her time at Spotify, Elhabashi played a crucial role in expanding podcast listenership from under 10 million to over 150 million. However, she also managed layoffs within the podcast teams as part of a strategic recalibration. This included shifting away from exclusive contracts with top podcasters, such as Joe Rogan and Alex Cooper, due to underperformance in ad sales and the desire of creators to reach broader audiences.
Despite the challenges, Spotify’s podcasts are projected to reach full-year profitability in 2024. In the first quarter, podcast ad revenue outpaced music, driven by significant growth in impressions sold across both original and licensed podcasts, although this was partially offset by lower pricing.
Elhabashi joined Spotify in December 2018 as VP of Content and took over the podcast business after Dawn Ostroff’s exit in January 2023. Prior to Spotify, she served as interim head of Condé Nast Entertainment after Ostroff’s departure.
